Check a teaching copy against fair use

Key facts

Human involvement

Yellow · Close supervision

How AI is used

From the reading list or the file to be shared, record the work, how much is to be copied or performed, the educational purpose, and whether a permission is already on the file. Do not decide that the use is fair, and do not write a permission request.

What the lawyer must review

You decide whether the use is fair. Copyright Office Circular 21 reprints 17 U.S.C. 107. Fair use of a copyrighted work, including for teaching and for multiple copies for classroom use, is not an infringement. The factors are the purpose and character of the use, including whether it is commercial or for nonprofit educational purposes; the nature of the copyrighted work; the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole; and the effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the work. The fact that a work is unpublished does not itself bar fair use. The Copyright Office fair-use questions say there is no legal rule permitting a specific number of words, a number of musical notes, or a percentage of a work, and that whether a use is fair depends on all the circumstances. In cases of doubt the Office recommends that permission be obtained. The same questions say that showing a movie in face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, from a lawful copy, is within 17 U.S.C. 110(1), and that this does not include a performance for recreation or entertainment. Only a federal court can determine that a particular use is fair. The Office's questions point back to Circular 21 for reproductions by educators and librarians.

Written for / version

United States versionUS